Why Do People Still Use Usenet?

Usenet, if you know anything about it, is one of the oldest forms of social networking. It was launched in 1981. This means, of course, that it was already up and running before most people even had access to a home computer. In the early days-and today-it provided a forum for professionals and interested amateurs to exchange information on a wide variety of topics. Normally, an article about technology that was developed in 1981 would already have segued into a description of how that technology was replaced. In the case of Usenet, it's still alive and kicking and is increasingly popular.

According to studies, Usenet didn't take quite the same route as the Internet did where information is concerned in an important regard. The Internet has a reputation for being one of the best sources of information ever devised, provided that you're very good at sorting through all the junk information out there. On Usenet, you're not as likely to have this problem, according to studies. Whatever the reasons for it, Usenet readers tend to be harder on information in terms of verifying its accuracy. On an Internet forum, bad information will likely get a flame. On the Usenet system, bad information will likely be broken down to its component arguments, deconstructed and invalidated by a thoughtful person who wants to make sure the quality of the newsgroup is maintained.

Usenet also allows you to get access to exceptionally qualified individuals. For example, if you've always wanted to talk to someone who worked on a supercollider but, like most people, have no way of making that happen, you may find such a person on Usenet. Usenet has always been a favorite hangout of scientists. This is likely, in part, because they have to spend less time dealing with cranky information on Usenet than they do online. Usenet has managed to keep very high standards in some of its newsgroups and this sometimes makes them absolutely fascinating to read.

If you want to participate, you'll find most newsgroups very welcoming. They're not like friend networks or the other common networking strategies of most sites. These newsgroups are based on interest and you don't have to post anything to read them. If you want to jump into the conversation, hit the appropriate thread and say "Hi". If you don't, you can still amuse yourself with all the other articles on the newsgroup.

In the last ten years, several social networking sites have come and gone. Usenet has lasted almost 30 years and, in all that time, it's attracted new users everyday; some truly interesting and accomplished people among them. It's still a very popular service for networking.